Rocky Patel Announces New Vintage Brand From Nicaragua

Rocky Patel Premium Cigars will introduce a new Vintage brand. “Just when you think you had all the answers, we’ve gone and changed the questions,” states Rocky Patel, company president and CEO, about the new cigar he’s introducing at this July’s IPCPR trade show. “We’ve reinvented Vintage.”

The Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 San Andreas will be the newest addition to his Vintage Series. And the new brand – set to hit the market at August’s end – will mark the inaugural launch of a Vintage line crafted out of Rocky’s boutique Nicaraguan factory called TaviCusa.

The Esteli-based factory which produces such brands as Sun Grown Maduro, Royale, and 15th Anniversary was tasked with rolling the 11-year-old Mexican wrapper with a tobacco blend that Rocky conceived. He selected a decadent blend of Nicaraguan fillers along with a Connecticut broadleaf binder to channel the spice and complexity of the mature San Andrés tobacco. The resulting medium to full bodied smoke produces a rich, leathery finish.

The Vintage 2006 San Andreas represents a departure from the 1990, 1992, 1999, and 2003 Vintage Series, all of which are handmade in Honduras and represent a strength profile ranging from mild to medium. Rocky had long aspired to work on a new Vintage brand, one that reached beyond the Honduran norm. “The Vintage 2006 will be the perfect companion brand to the Vintage Series,” explained Rocky. “It may be the youngest among the siblings, but it delivers with robust flavor and power.”

Packed in 20-count boxes, the Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 San Andreas will be available in four vitolas: Robusto (5 1⁄2 x 50) retailing for $9.55; Toro (6 1⁄2 x 52) retailing for $10.10; Churchill (7 x 48) retailing for $10.10; and Sixty (6 x 60) retailing for $11.75.